Tuesday, August 26, 2014

There are five candidates for three open council positions this fall. Board members contacted the city and confirmed it today.

The five Council candidates are:

Jeff Gudman

Jackie Manz

Joe Buck

Matt Keenan

Ed Brockman

2014 will represent a very interesting mid term election for the council. Many believe citizens will either confirm the redirection mandate of the 2012 election or voters will once again redirect the council.....

The primary question is has this council met its commitments when elected in 2010 and 2012?

Only the voters will provide the answer to this question....

No doubt all the candidates will be actively campaigning come September 2 after the holiday. We encourage ALL members to contact and engage ALL the candidates for this election.

Once again the COLA board members and advisory board members will interview all the candidates and make an endorsement for the election as we have done in 2010 and 2012.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

The COLA board has been advised of new city council candidates who will file this week. We will update all members on the council race and the respective candidates next week as more information becomes public.

It appears that the race will become much more competitive once all candidates formally announce.

The LO review published articles on both Jeff Gudman and Jackie Manz who have formally declared. Details can be found at Gudman and Manz.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

This week the LO Review was flooded with articles from citizens supporting the decision of the DRC on a 3-2 vote against the proposed Wizer development. IT was an interesting show of support by a broad number of residents in the community.

While at the same time at least one resident believes that the debate had lead to a Balanced Project.

While COLA has taken no position on the project its clear that members and a large group of residents have strong views of what needs to be done. The debate has continued over the entire summer which tends to be a calm season in local politics within Lake Oswego.

Its clear that citizens are deeply concerned about this project which requires $5 million+ in taxpayer funding to be completed. The Funding will be through the LORA Urban Renewal District.

Its now likely that the City Council will hear the appeal of the project in September-October just before the election of three new city councilors. Stay tuned...

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

This week the LO Review published an announcement that the developers intend to appeal the DRC vote (3-2) in opposition to the project. This means our City Council will make the final determination on the project. It will be an interesting situation given that the council voted in favor of the LORA development agreement to spend $5 million in taxpayer funds on the project.

“What you should be able to count on is predictability” ...not here buddy- our crazy NIMBY/COLA/LOCAL crowd is as unpredictable as they come. Why would anyone want to do business in LO, with rabid loons like Sengenberger, Cassidy, Berg, Gibson, and Akermen screaming at you?

Jane: Screaming? Really. I've never seen any of the people you name screaming at anyone. Quite the contrary on the Progressive side of the coin. COLA has not personally taken a stance on the Wizer development and I doubt it will occur. What we are witnessing is a division of the former coalitions in town, many switching camps regarding Wizer's. That will lead to an interesting election this year. The SOV contingent for the most part have been in the fiscal responsibility camp. I could see them withdrawing their support from any incumbent running for reelection who votes in favor of the development as it now stands. It is the hot topic of the year and different from former issues in that some former members of LOCAL support it, and a few members of KLOG oppose it. After all our correspondence, I would have thought you could spell my name by now, but you still hide behind your alias mask.

Its an interesting twist on the entire high density issue in Lake Oswego. It seems the City Council will make the final decision in September or October.